Task Force Mali beginning around the clock operations Wednesday

Canadian Forces members, from 450 Tactical Helicopter Squadron at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa, load a CH-147F Chinook helicopter rotor assembly onto a CC-177 Globemaster at CFB Trenton in Trenton, Ont., on Tuesday, July 3, 2018. The helicopter will assist during Canada's UN mission in Mali. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg

Canada’s troops in Mali will begin conducting medical evacuations around the clock Wednesday — just over a month after the military first arrived in the country.

The Canadian Armed Forces’ ‘Operation Presence’ is its contribution to the United Nation’s mission to stabilize Mali, dubbed MINUSMA. The government has pledged 250 military personnel, three Chinook transport helicopters, and five heavily-armed Griffon escort helicopters to the mission. One of each helicopters will remain on the ground as a spare in MINUSMA’s camp near the city of Gao, where Canada’s troops will operate from. The city of Gao is in the larger Gao region, which is in Mali’s dangerously contested north, where its conflict rages most intensely.

“To date, everything is on schedule as planned,” Capt. Christopher Daniel, a spokesperson for the Canadian Armed Forces, told iPolitics in a statement.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said they would not rush through deployment at the expense of safety. The Conservative opposition to the government — which has been critical of Canada’s decision to involve itself in the Mali conflict as a whole — expressed doubts about the government’s ability to successfully deploy its troops by its deadline.

The first Canadian troops arrived on June 24. Canadian Col. Chris McKenna took command of Task Force Mali on July 9, while Canada’s first helicopters, one of each of the Chinook and Griffons, arrived less than a week later in Gao on July 15.

“Theatre openings are often complex projects. We have been working closely with our counterparts at the United Nations to ensure the camp is ready for the Task Force and that they have access to all the equipment and services they require,” Daniel said.

MINUSMA contracted civilian helicopter support, according to Daniel, to aid in providing aeromedical evacuation support while Canada’s Forces have deployed. Canada’s troops will strictly perform medical evacuations for roughly half a month. In mid-August, Canada’s troops will be capable of performing other air mobility and tactical airlift tasks. This will include transporting troops, food, equipment and other supplies. Daniel called Canada’s medical evacuation abilities its “most important” task.

MINUSMA has been the UN’s most dangerous mission since it launched in 2013. There are 169 UN peacekeepers who have been killed while deployed. Two German pilots in the contingent that Canada’s troops will replace were killed near Gao a year ago when their helicopter crashed because the autopilot settings had been set incorrectly, according Germany’s Der Spiegel, which attributes the findings to the German Defence Ministry.

Daniel confirmed approximately 250 Canadian military members are currently serving in Mali. The government has promised Canada’s Forces will conclude Operation Presence by the end of July 2019.

Canada has also pledged up to 20 civilian police officers to Mali to assist and educate its local police forces. They have yet to travel to the country, but once there, will be in Mali for a yet to be determined amount of time.